Spatiotemporal immune zonation of the human kidney

Tissue-resident immune cells are important for organ homeostasis and defense. The epithelium may contribute to these functions directly or by cross-talk with immune cells. We used single-cell RNA sequencing to resolve the spatiotemporal immune topology of the human kidney. We reveal anatomically defined expression patterns of immune genes within the epithelial compartment, with antimicrobial peptide transcripts evident in pelvic epithelium in the mature, but not fetal, kidney. A network of tissue-resident myeloid and lymphoid immune cells was evident in both fetal and mature kidney, with postnatal acquisition of transcriptional programs that promote infection-defense capabilities. Epithelial-immune cross-talk…

• EM
  European Molecular Biology Organization
• SB
  St. Baldrick's Foundation
• WT
  Wellcome Trust

  Awards: 200110/Z/15/Z, 110104/Z/15/Z, 216366/Z/19/Z, 107931/Z/15/Z, 0099175/Z/12/Z, WT098051
• CR
  Cancer Research UK

  Award: C63442/A25230
• NI
  National Institute for Health and Care Research

  Awards: RP-2017-08-ST2-002, RG75628
• KR
  Kidney Research UK

  Award: TF_013_20171124
• AR
  Arthritis Research UK

  Award: 21777
• HF
  Human Frontier Science Program
• LI
  Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine
• CW
  CHILDREN with CANCER UK
• MR
  Medical Research Council

  Awards: MR/N024907/1, MR/N024907